Anthem of the Angels
by carzla
Summary: [One Shot Collection] A memory. A legacy. The gift of the Goddess. Pride, honor and dreams. Wings do not make a monster; they are for those who seek freedom. Yet, the price of freedom is steep...


_**Anthem of the Angels**_

_Chapter 1: Sephiroth_

_Disclaimer:_

_The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII belongs to Square Enix, while the song, Anthem of the Angels, belongs to Breaking Benjamin. This story contains shounen-ai/BL; if it doesn't suit your tastes, feel free to hit the back button. I only own this story idea. Thank you._

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><p><strong>Full Summary:<strong>

**[One Shot Collection] A memory. A living legacy. The gift of the Goddess. Pride, honor and dreams. Wings do not make a monster; they are merely for those who seek and desire freedom. And yet, the price of true freedom is unforgivably steep…**

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><p>He knew. He knew in his mind, with absolute certainty, that it wasn't him. Not anymore.<p>

The General had died the very same day that Nibelheim had gone up in a cruel blaze of scarlet flames seven years ago.

There was nothing left of the Sephiroth that he had once admired, that he had once loved wholeheartedly. No, he knew that he still loved him, because how could you _not _fall in love with the man underneath ShinRa's multitude of glossy promotional posters and Sephiroth's own carefully constructed shields? Thus, because of that, he would still hurt. It would be an ache that flared up on odd occasions, an indelible scar that would never fully heal no matter the amount of time that had passed.

His Sephiroth would _never_ come back again.

Even with that knowledge, the knowledge that his beloved – the person that he knew from Before – was long dead and he was only facing a clone of Sephiroth brought about by the JENOVA cells that Kadaj, who was a part of Sephiroth, but not the one he loved (no, not completely) had merged with, it didn't make it any easier – not at all – to face Sephiroth's empty shell for the _third_ time.

He was still as breathtaking as ever. Long silver hair, pale skin reminiscent of a winter landscape yet, to Cloud, it was enthralling rather than forbidding, the subtle slant to almond-shaped emerald eyes that only accentuated his attractiveness despite the slight otherworldliness of his features and the modified SOLDIER uniform with the signature black leather coat that served to give a teasing, tantalizing glimpse of the warrior's almost-bare chest.

Under the rapidly graying sky, with his tall imposing figure and the Masamune sword artfully highlighted by the few rays of light that managed to force their way through the heavy cloak of poisoned, black Lifestream, Sephiroth was no different from a god.

A god of death and despair, standing proud and majestic against a backdrop of a dark maelstrom of potent destructive power.

This was the man who had almost singlehandedly crippled Wutai even before insanity made him all the more ruthless in his methods. This was the man who had called forth the power of the stars – Meteor, the man who would've killed this planet – and perhaps many, many more – if not for a twist of fate when his puppet turned against him.

Death had never looked this elegant, this morbidly beautiful… this _desirable_.

Yes, Sephiroth was no longer who he used to be. But he was still able to make Cloud's heart pound fervently with an emotion that wasn't fear _(lustdesirelove)_ when it very well should be. There was still a part of him that wanted to fall into the General's arms and never, _never_ let go.

(It was almost all right to return to becoming his puppet. _Almost._ It was a close one.)

But he couldn't. He was the only one that stood between JENOVA's plans to destroy Gaia and whatever other planets there were out there in the vast universe. He wasn't going to let JENOVA win – she had already taken so much, _too much _from him – and especially not when her avatar was Sephiroth.

Yes, he knew that it wasn't entirely JENOVA's fault alone. He knew quite clearly that while JENOVA had first influenced Sephiroth, was part of the reason why Sephiroth had formed warped views about his birth and heritage… Sephiroth himself had also desired the annihilation of Gaia and the people who had created him solely for the purpose of being a weapon of mass destruction.

Ironically, he had fulfilled that purpose remarkably well; only, it was also – eventually – against the ones who had first wanted to use him for their selfish intentions.

Nothing, absolutely _nothing_, had been able to fully rein in Sephiroth once he had matured and his strength had grown far beyond a human's capabilities, even exceeding that of a normal SOLDIER First Class. JENOVA was no exception; it was ultimately Sephiroth who had taken control of her and had used her innate ability for manipulation and destruction to further his own personal quest.

Sephiroth was no innocent, even if he had been a victim of subtle manipulation and circumstance.

But he wasn't the main villain either.

Perhaps it wasn't even JENOVA. She was what she had been created to be – a virus-like monster whose sole purpose was to bring about death and devastation as she infected healthy organisms to replicate her all-consuming cancer. The ones that deigned to use her were the ones who had set in motion JENOVA's purpose once again, when she had already been dormant, sealed away by the few remaining Cetra a long, long time ago.

Hojo could die a thousand, a _million_ times over in increasingly excruciating ways, and it still wouldn't be enough to pay for his part in this twisted tragedy.

The first words that Sephiroth _(masterpuppeteergod) _had said to him, in that darkly seductive tone, made him _(slavepuppetworshipper)_ forget to breathe for a split second. His name on Sephiroth's lips was like a physical caress. A part of him longed to wrap himself up in the embrace of that mesmerizing, sensual voice, as irrational as that was.

"_It's been a long time, Cloud."_

Sometimes, rationality was _so_ overrated.

Perhaps he still wasn't quite prepared to face Sephiroth in a one-on-one battle to the death again, despite knowing what Kadaj and his brothers were. He was fighting with all his might, most assuredly, but there were moments when he had been mesmerized by the General, by the innate grace in all his movements, by the way the dim light sometimes made his eyes glint in a manner reminiscent of Before…

Scant moments of distraction, perhaps, but they were enough for someone of Sephiroth's caliber to gain an advantage.

It was Sephiroth's eyes, Cloud knew. Those brilliant, beautiful emerald green eyes. They captivated him and called out to him like a siren's seductive song, wanting him to drown willingly in their endless verdant depths. For a man as closed off as Sephiroth, his eyes were certainly the most expressive part of him. But even so, it was difficult to spot the subtle emotions lurking within their depths, unless you knew him well.

And it was those eyes… They told him, more clearly than actions ever could, that Sephiroth was no longer there.

Physically, he was still there, still the same with his unfathomable, supernatural power. But mentally, emotionally, he wasn't. The Sephiroth that Cloud was facing now, the one he had faced two years back at the Northern Crater, was merely a walking dead man.

(_"You're a puppet, Cloud. __**My**__ puppet."_

…Yet, could a god also be a puppet? A puppet to his own broken mind?)

"_What do you cherish most, Cloud…? Allow me the pleasure to take it away from you."_

If Cloud could have answered truthfully, it would've been a short, simple answer. One word.

("You." _The you from before Nibelheim, Sephiroth. Always you. Only you._)

But he couldn't be truthful, not completely, because this Sephiroth wouldn't understand. Even if he hoped that somewhere, in the darkness that had now consumed Sephiroth whole, the silver-haired man that had existed before the tragedy had befallen them would really hear him. Hear all his unspoken words, words that would never ever be touched by the air of this world.

"_There is nothing that I do not cherish."_

That was as close to the truth as he could ever give…

"_I will… never be a memory."_

As he watched the black, inky feathers scatter away into the wind, Cloud silently agreed.

_You're right, Sephiroth. You won't be just a memory. You, the you from Before and the you that you eventually became, all of that will be kept in __**my**__ memories…_

_**My one-winged angel.**_

Cloud knew he certainly did not have the best track record for having a good memory, but in relation to Sephiroth… He had _never_ forgotten anything.

When he next caught a gravely-weakened Kadaj in his arms and then watched the remnant reach out to the rainy sky in a child-like gesture that was painfully familiar to Cloud before dissolving into wisps of green, _green_ Lifestream that seemed to caress his skin as they drifted around him before disappearing altogether, he prayed that whatever remained of Sephiroth's willwould finally find his peace.

His everlasting freedom.

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><p><em>There is nothing left of you<em>

_I can see it in your eyes_

_Sing the anthem of the angels_

_And say the last goodbye…_

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><p><strong>On hindsight, this chapter seems to be an expanded version of my old fanfic, <em>Memory of Wings. <em>Oh well. I like this one better. xD"**

**This one shot collection is based on the song _Anthem of the Angels _**by Breaking Benjamin, and partly inspired by a FF7 AMV done to the said song. It's also where I first heard of this song and found that it really, really seemed to reflect a lot of things that happened in FF7. Most especially since _Crisis Core_ and _Advent Children Complete_ added a lot more angel/wing imagery. Do check out the AMV: http:/ / www. youtube. com / watch ?v= u4Qs- YPVdRM (remove all the spaces)! It's gorgeously done and the lyrics of the song are also in the description.****

****If you read the lyrics of _Anthem of the Angels_, you'll see there're a few parts of the song that resonates with this chapter (of course, some parts don't quite apply, but that's why there're a few more chapters coming up ^^"). The section of the lyrics that really got to me for Sephiroth/Cloud is the part of the chorus that I've included, though there are more.****

****Well, that's it. Hope you've enjoyed reading!****

_****carzla****_


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